Boxingtalk sat down with famed fight trainer Freddie Roach, and got an update on the recent lawsuit filed by Pacquiao’s manager, Shelly Finkelagainst Pacquaio lawyer ‘Jing’ Gacal and advisor Wakee Salud. Roach also updates us on Manny Pacquiao’s training camp, Bobby Pacquiao, and James Toney.
BT – Freddie what the hell is going on with talks of lawsuits, and all of these distractions in the Manny Pacquiao camp ?
FR – The Philippine lawyer, and Wakee Salud had Manny sign a contract without going through Manny’s trainer, Shelly Finkel. They didn’t go through the proper channels, and Manny’s upset about that. I am going to speak with Manny right after this interview . Manny had a great workout today, and he’s very focused in the gym. This is a little distraction right now, and it’s something we don’t need. We are trying to get this thing resolved right away so we don’t have any distractions going into the fight with Oscar Larios.
BT – Freddie, who is Manny upset with, Shelly Finkel or ‘Jing’ Gacal and Wakee Salud, or all of the above?
FR – I think it’s pretty much everybody. It’s unnecessary to have something like this come up so close to a fight. Everyone is going to sit down and get this thing settled. I think we will have this settled by tomorrow.
BT – Freddie have you had an opportunity to sit down with Manny one on one, and talk to him about not letting this crap get up into his head ?
FR – I sat down with Manny today after his workout. Manny has been very focused in the gym, and I have had no problem with his focusing in the gym. The thing is, this is too close to the fight to have any distractions at all. I talked to Shelly about dropping the lawsuit, and the two people that are being sued will be arriving at 7pm tonight, and Shelly is on his way in also. Everybody will sit down and meet tomorrow, and everything will be straightened out tomorrow.
BT – Freddie how confident are you that Shely Finkel, and Pacquiao’s Philippine lawyers can hash this thing out by tomorrow ?
FR – I don’t see any reason why it can’t be hashed out tomorrow. They jumped the gun and had Manny sign a contract, and it wasn’t presented to Manny’s management, Shelly Finkel. They have to go through the proper channels. The contract wasn’t what Shelly had expected it to be.
BT – Freddie what exactly was this contract that Manny signed anyway ?
FR – It was a Philippine contract, and it wasn’t what we wanted. I can’t disclose exactly what was in the contract because I didn’t read it. Everyone is going to be here tomorrow to discuss the contract. I can say that the contract had to do with his next fight, but the thing is, everyone will be here and we will get this straightened out.
BT – Ok, so how’s camp going so far for Manny ?
FR – We have three sparring partners, two Russian sparring partners. Manny did 9 rounds on Friday, we cut back to 7 today, tomorrow we go back to 8 and Friday we go back to 9 rounds. Manny is looking great, he is hungry for the fight. We will be breaking camp here in Los Angeles on June 19th and we will arrive in Manila on June 20th.
BT – Freddie what measures do you have in place to make sure that Manny doesn’t get bogged down in the hype, and distractions over in The Philippines ike he started to do before he left for Los Angeles ?
FR – We will keep Manny pretty isolated when we get over there. The thing is the camp will be closed, we will have a couple of public workouts. We will keep Manny as isolated as possible. We will have the security that we need, and do the best we can, Manny is very popular over there.
BT – How do you see Bobby Pacquiao doing against a tough veteran in Kevin Kelly ?
FR – Bobby is in great shape, and I really think he’s trying to get out of the shadow of his bother Manny. Bobby is a different guy than he used to be, at one time Bobby just kind went through the motions, and rode Manny’s wave. Bobby is starting to pull out of Manny’s shadow. Kevin Kelly is a veteran, and he can still fight, he’s slick. This should be a very exciting fight, I think a win for Bobby can possibly put him line for a title shot because it would be two good wins in a row.
BT – Reports are that James Toney turned down a fight with Wladimir Klitschko, what do you know about that ?
FR – Nothing, I haven’t heard from James Toney at all. I think style wise that’s a tough fight for James, but if anyone can pull it out, it’s James Toney.
BT – Freddie is there anything in closing that you can say to the Pacquiao fans out there, to put them at ease will all of these distractions going on ?
FR – One thing about Manny, in the gym he’s focused. I am trying hard to keep Manny away from all of the bullshit with the lawsuit. We have a great game-plan for Oscar Larios. Manny is at 134lbs today, his weight is good, his running is good. We did the mountains this morning, and Manny is training really hard. I love where Manny is at right now with his training. We are keeping him focused, and all of the participants in this lawsuit are coming in today, and I feel confident we can get this past us.
BT – Freddie with all of this going on, there is a hungry Mexican warrior in Erik Morales waiting just beyond the horizon for his re-match.
FR – Yes, and I can’t wait for that fight to shut him up! Erik Morales is talking a lot of shit, he says Manny is famous because of him. Well you know what Erik, it’s almost time to put up or shut up, and that’s all I have to say right now about Erik Morales.
